The Nativity
by FFcrazy15
Summary: In honor of Christ's Mass. "For today in the City of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is CHRIST the LORD."


**NOTE! This was actually posted during last Christmas; I'm sorry if it re-uploads this, seeing as I made some quick spelling changes! If you've already read this, it's not new, it's just been edited very briefly. Sorry. : ) *sheepish grin***

Disclaimer: I don't own the Bible or Jesus; Jesus owns me. : )

She was shivering.

That wasn't surprising. Temperatures dropped in the desert at night. Joseph quickly took off his outer cloak and wrapped it around her shoulders. She looked up at him gratefully, exhaustedly, pulling the baby closer to her exposed chest.

He looked away, embarrassed. It was ridiculous for him to be embarrassed. He'd just helped her give birth, a far cry from breastfeeding.

"He's a hungry one," she commented, voice hoarse- from the birth or from the tears brimming in her eyes, he couldn't tell. Slowly, he sat down beside his young wife.

"We'll stay here a little while," he said. "Maybe a few months, so you can recover."

"In this cave? Is that good for…" She trailed off.

"He'll be alright. So will we, once I can get some… I don't know, homey comforts?" He glanced at her, unsure what else to call them.

She gave him a weak smile. "Looks like you'll be doing all the 'women's work' for a while." The baby stopped sucking, and she pulled him away, readjusting her dress.

"Mary," he said seriously, turning to face her. "About his name."

"I've been thinking too. Maybe Joachim, for my father, or Jacob for yours? But they don't seem to match…"

"Yeshua."

She looked at him, surprised. "What?"

"Yeshua," he repeated, the name seeming to ring slightly in the cold night. "That's what the angel told me to name him."

She said nothing for a long time. And then, very softly, he heard, "…God saves…"

Suddenly, there was a disturbance at the mouth of the cave. Both looked over.

A scruffy-looking man was hurrying inside. Mary's eyes went wide, and Joseph jumped to his feet, sweeping his staff off the ground, ready for a fight.

"Get back!" he shouted, brandishing the staff, as two more men appeared outside the mouth of the cave. "Get back to wherever you came from, or I swear-"

"Joseph, stop!" Mary said. He blinked, surprised. "Don't you see?" she added, in a gentler tone. "They're here for _Him."_

"'Scuse us, sir, miss," the man said sheepishly. "Only- we were out with our sheep- and then-"

He was out of breath, so his friend took up the narrative. "We've seen the messengers of Adonai," he continued, voice full of awe. "Thousands o' them, miss. They tol' us to come here. To see the _Newborn King._"

"They said," the third added, "that he'd be wrapped up in blankets an' stuff, lying in a feedbox. Thought it mighty strange, I did, but looks like they were tellin' the truth!" He gazed at the baby in sheer wonder. "Is it true, miss? Is he-"

"Christ the Lord?" they all said in unison.

Joseph's mind was reeling. He'd known who the child was but- but until now, it had never really computed. He opened his mouth, not sure what he would say, but Mary beat him to it.

"He is," she said softly, with just as much- no, more wonder in her voice than the shepherds.

At that, they hurried forward to the child and his mother. Joseph watched, unsure what the proper protocol was when unknown nomads came to worship your child.

A long time passed in a dazed sort of way, until finally Mary was drowsily stroking the boy's face, two of the shepherds sitting beside her in awe.

"I envy you, mate," said the last one, who was sitting by Joseph.

"Envy me? Why?"

"Why? You, man, you're the adopted father of the Messiah!" He laughed a little. "A mighty big challenge, raising the Son of the Heavens. Not that you're not up to it, of course."

"I'm not sure I am," Joseph said quietly. He glanced around, and then making sure no one else was listening, said, "She's… perfect. I don't mean perfect in the way other men think they're wives are perfect, I mean…" He trailed off, unsure how to explain it. "And the Messiah. The son of Adonai. How can I- how can _any_ man raise God?"

"Joseph," the shepherd said, "Out o' ev'ry man in the world, Adonai chose _you._ Don't you think that means something?"

"But to be the father of the Messiah-"

"To be the father of a child," the shepherd corrected. "Don't be so hard on yo'self, mate. In all the world, there have only ever been two perfect people, an' they're sittin' in this very cave." He nodded towards Mary and the baby. "Raise him as you would any son, and let Adonai do the rest."

"Joseph," Mary called over, interrupting them. "Would you like to hold him?"

His eyes went wide in surprise. "Um…"

"Go on, you won't break him."

Slowly, he reached over and took the baby. He squirmed but didn't fall, taking hold of his finger. Joseph felt his heart thump.

The child wrinkled his nose. It was longer than most babies'- was that Adonai's nose? Or hers? As he pondered this, the baby looked up at him with those big, dark eyes. Mary's eyes.

"Hello, Yeshua," he whispered. "I'm Joseph. I'm… you father. Or sort of your father."

Mary laughed, scooting over beside him. "Isn't he beautiful?" she whispered.

He nodded wordlessly. He thought he'd cry if he tried to speak.

The shepherd he'd been talking to coughed and stood. "Well, sir, miss, I think it's 'bout time we get back to our sheep." He gave the others a meaningful look. After much goodbye-ing and taking one last look at the child (an image, they knew, that would never dull in their minds), they left.

The baby soon lost interest in Joseph's finger, and reached up to grab hold Mary's dark brown curls. Joseph gently pulled the little fist away. "Now, now. You can't go pulling your mother's hair like that." The baby yawned. "See, even you know you're tired. Go to sleep, Yeshua."

As if the child had understood him, his eyes fluttered closed, and soon little sighing snores were coming from his pink face.

"I just can't stop looking at him," Mary whispered, careful not to wake the sleeping baby.

"I know." He gave her a quick, chaste kiss on the forehead. "But you should be resting too, Mary."

"I know… Will you watch him?"

"Of course."

"Mm." She closed her eyes, leaned her head on his shoulder, and within moments, she too was asleep.

Joseph brushed a lock of curly hair out of her beautiful face, and then looked down at the baby. As the soft snoring of his sleeping family filled the now-warm air around him, he whispered softly in simple prayer, "Adonai, be with me." Then, he adjusted the child in his arms, ready to stay up the night through until dawn.


End file.
